Student Expresses Concerns

I as a student of Bluefield College am concerned about the lack of responsibility shown (recently) during the water issue.

I feel that we were not informed in a timely manner that the water was not safe. If there was a possibility that it was not safe after the pipe burst, we should have been informed immediately and not hours after the fact.

I do not blame Bluefield (College) for the pipe burst, but I do think that it was improperly handled. My concern rises every time we have any sort of issue on this campus, because the amount of time it takes the students to get informed of things is simply unacceptable.

Our campus should be a place that we feel safe and valued, not a place where we need to constantly worry about trivial things that we cannot actually do anything about on our own.

I also feel it is high time that we stop treating our students like whiny children and remember that they are adults who pay money to attend school here. When an issue is brought to the attention of administrators or faculty, it should be taken seriously and not disregarded. I feel that it is incredibly rude on the school’s behalf and also it is irresponsible to hear that your students are concerned about an issue and then just sweep that issue under the rug. We do not just want opinion columns and forums we want something to actually be done.

I understand that change can often times take time, and I do not expect immediate change. However, I have been attending here for four and a half years and instead of issues being addressed they have simply been ignored, and I feel like it is high time that something be done about issues rather than them just simply being dismissed as something that is not an important problem.

Our housing is a problem, our security is a problem, our handicap friendliness is a problem, our lack of assistance for medical and mental issues is a problem. I feel that if we are going to pay as much as we do to come to school here we should live up to our mission statement and really treat our students the way God would want them treated. We are adults, young adults in most cases, but adults nonetheless. “Do not look down upon them because they are young” instead use their youthfulness and willing to face problems head on as encouragement and a push in the correct direction.

I feel like there are people at Bluefield who are helping us take steps in the right direction, but I also feel like many problems still are not being solved. I appreciate the effort that has been put forth because there are a lot of people doing good work on campus, but I think it is unacceptable that some of the issues we were trying to have addressed in 2014 are only now being talked about in 2019.